Preparing to go Abroad

Hello, Hola, or should I say:

γεια σας (Hello in Greek)

I remember little freshman me dreaming of going abroad for a Semester. Now, here I am, a Junior, counting down the days until I leave for Greece (10 days to be exact). This is my time to step out of my comfort zone even more and challenge myself. People always tell me that you're never going to have another chance to travel like you do when you study abroad, and I believe them. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. My whole semester abroad will be filled with once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. It hasn't really hit me that I am leaving in less than a week, even with all the packing and people asking you if you're excited. I am so blessed to be traveling to a country that most people go for honeymoons or vacations. 

You learn a lot throughout your years at Bentley and I really think that I am as prepared as I possibly could be to go abroad. Ever since I was little I had a dream (like most people) to travel the world and see different people and cultures. Now I have the opportunity to do so. And it's all thanks to Bentley. Bentley gives you endless opportunities to go abroad because they know how much of a learning experience it is. You might see colors you never knew existed, traditions you might have only seen on TV or in movies, or smells that you could have never imagined. But that's the point. You expand your knowledge of everything. Bentley knows how valuable this experience is. Please stay tuned for my constant updates while I am in Greece!!! You will get a sneak preview of life abroad! 

Until next time! 
Esperanza

 

Home Away from Home

I don’t know when exactly I started referring to Bentley as home, but I think there comes a point in almost every college student’s life when they do the same. From freshman to senior year, this campus and the people that fill it have made 8:30 AM classes bearable…and that’s saying something. As a second semester senior, I’m beginning to start thinking about what life will be like after graduation in May. It’s strange to think that I won’t be trekking up to classes on a daily basis, climbing from my room on the lowest section of campus to the top, where our academic buildings are located (while convincing myself that the cardiovascular and related health benefits are worth showing up to class out of breath and with back sweat). I’ll miss snowmen on the quads and the outdoor basketball courts turned hockey rink. I’ll miss Kan Jam, corn hole, and the accompanying sunbathers and country music. Mostly though, I’ll miss the people that have volunteered to put up with my shenanigans and abundance of character flaws by rooming with me. So as a token of my thanks and admiration, this blog will be about them and my housing experiences at Bentley.

Freshman Year – Birch 210

The year of the boys of B2. One of the three freshman dorms (and the largest with about 60% of the freshman class), Trees Dormitory is home to different halls, each fittingly named after a type of tree. I lived in Birch, more specifically on the 2nd floor, which is where B2 comes from. Incredibly, of the 23 guys I lived with on B2 during freshman year, I would consider well over half of them to still be close friends. We played intramural soccer and dodge-ball as a floor, maintained what most other people thought was a ludicrous open door policy, and had an unbeatable shower jams playlist.

Sophomore Year – Orchard South 204

Bentley runs an incentive during housing selection time, whereby attending certain events around campus, you are entered into a raffle to be the first selection in the housing lottery (the order of which is determined by credits). Fast forward to my roommate running full steam down the bleachers celebrating as his number is picked, with me in hot pursuit. That’s how I came to live in a predominantly senior dorm as a sophomore, honing my chef skills in our kitchen and enjoying the 30 second walk to the gym. My advice? Get as many of those housing lottery raffle tickets as you can.

Junior Year – Falcone West 305

Again, the beauty of living at a smaller school like Bentley is that the housing situation is phenomenal. After coming back from our fall semesters abroad, 4 of my friends and I were able to do a direct room exchange with five girls who were all going abroad in the Spring, this time in a sweet pad that featured a kitchen, private bathroom, and a spacious common room. A special thanks goes out to Residential Life for making that transition a smooth one.

Senior Year – Orchard South 401

And finally back to the building I resided in sophomore year for one last shebang. Living on the top floor, which we have aptly named the Penthouse Quadrangle (there are only 4 rooms up there), my roommates and I share a 960 square foot apartment that consists of two double rooms, a single room, a bathroom, kitchen, common room, and two massive hall closets. All in all….not too shabby.

As hard as its been for me to come to terms with this being my last semester as a Bentley Undergrad, it’s also given me the opportunity to reflect on my 3 1/2 year ride. As all things seem to go in life, you rarely appreciate how fortunate you are or how great you have it until you’re looking back. I could not possibly repay my roommates (though I do probably owe them money) for how much they have enriched my Bentley experience. I can only hope that everyone else is as lucky as I was to have made the friends I did along the way.

“I could only find really mushy or female oriented friendship/roommate quotes so I quoted myself.” – Andrew Johnston

P.S. Click here for a virtual tour of Bentley, and to see photos and panoramas around campus

A Lil’ Snow Never Hurt Anybody

Being from Vermont, I’m pretty used to blizzards, snowstorms, Nor-easters, or whatever you’d like to call them; a couple feet here and there- no big deal. Unfazed, Vermonters hop in their Subaru’s equipped with studded snow tires and go about their business as usual. Waltham, and maybe all of Massachusetts, is a little bit different – thirty inches of snow and every school from Plymouth to Pittsfield is closed, streets in the burrows of Boston are traveled by ski, snowboard, or sled rather than vehicles, and every isle in Star Market, Shaw’s, Stop & Shop, you name it, are wiped clean by worried foragers. Don’t get me wrong, I would have been caught on Tuesday skiing down Darling Street in Mission Hill, raiding the Hot Pocket shelf at the 7-11, and trudging through knee-deep snow to cross the train tracks. And yes, in case you’re wondering, it was an absolute blast… for about a day and a half. And now, the aftermath.

What Does It All Mean?

As we gear up to release our Early Action decisions, we know that our decisions will be met with mixed emotions: excitement, disappointment, and even some confusion. Perhaps the most puzzling decision for students to receive is the dreaded “defer”, so I wanted to take a moment to dispel some of the common misconceptions about this decision. Many students automatically think of being deferred as bad news, but this is not the case! With thousands of applications in Early Action and thousands more coming in Regular Admission, the admissions committee has to make some very difficult decisions. At Bentley, we take the holistic review of an application very seriously and make sure to put just as much time and energy into reading your application as you put into writing it!   We look at a myriad of personal and academic qualities that would make a student a good fit for Bentley, but this is not a decision that can be rushed. In some cases we might need more information to make a final decision or we might need to look at the entire pool of applicants before making the most informed decision that we can. With a limited number of spots in the class and so many wonderfully talented and special applicants, it is not an easy process. So, what can you do if your application is deferred to the regular decision pool?

1. Show us some love. If you believe that Bentley is the place for you, but haven’t been able to make a visit to campus, there are plenty of other ways to show your interest! For example, don’t be afraid to reach out to one of our admission counselors and let us know you’re interested. We love hearing from you!  Your admission counselor’s contact information can be found here: http://www.bentley.edu/undergraduate/contact
2. Make sure we have the most up-to-date information on your academic or personal achievements. You can log in to your MyBentley Account (http://applicant.bentley.edu) to make sure that we have all of your supporting documents and be sure to have your guidance office send your mid-year grades along when they become available.
3. Hang in there. We know that it might not be the decision you were hoping for, but rest assured your application will continue to receive the time and energy it deserves.